Peskov: Estlink 2 rupture not among Kremlin's priorities

TALLINN - Finland's detention of a tanker, which, according to media reports, was carrying Russian oil, does not fall under the Kremlin's purview, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"I can't say anything for sure. This is a highly specific issue, which is hardly the prerogative of the presidential administration," Peskov told the press on Friday.

He was asked to comment on Finland's detention of a tanker carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea on suspicion of damaging undersea cables between Finland and Estonia.

On Christmas Day, the Estlink 2 submarine cable that carries electricity from Finland to Estonia was disconnected from the grid, just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea.

Robin Lardot of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation said a probe for "aggravated sabotage" had been opened into the oil tanker Eagle S, which flies the flag of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific.

"The assumption at the moment is that it is a shadow fleet vessel and the cargo was unleaded petrol loaded in a Russian port," said Sami Rakshit, director general of Finnish customs.

The shadow fleet refers to ships that transport Russian crude and oil products which are embargoed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Eagle S was en route to Port Said, according to the tracking website Marine Traffic.

The vessel was escorted by a Finnish patrol boat to the port of Porkkala, around 30 kilometers west of Helsinki.

When the Finnish police and border guards detained the tanker, its anchor did not rise to the surface.

In addition to Estlink 2, four undersea communication cables are out of service at the moment, including three between Finland and Estonia and one between Finland and Germany.

At this stage, it is not yet clear whether there is a link between the disruption of the communication cable and the damage to Estlink 2.